Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1 (21 page)

* * *

"Five pounds of gold says he doesn't." Dragon dropped a heavy canvas bag onto Lion and Marlianna's kitchen table.

"I'll see that bet," Lion agreed. "I think he will. Want some tea?"

"Falchani black?"

"You got it."

* * *

The sun had fallen below the horizon when Kiarra returned. I'd fussed, fumed and cursed during her absence. I hated this. Generally, unless my dealings involved older vampires, I was in charge.

I considered, too, what my current circumstances might mean to my position as Chief Enforcer. Would it matter? Did I even want to keep it? Was I still obligated to answer to Xavier? I'd wasted time and hadn't asked Kiarra so many relevant questions. Was this what she meant by pros and cons?

"We have to leave soon," Kiarra said. "You can shower, or I can get you clean using power. What do you prefer?"

"Will you?" I began.

"I'm not showering with you."

"Then do what you have to do to get me clean," I insisted stubbornly.

"Fine." I was bathed in light for a moment before my vision cleared. I stared, first at her, then at me. She'd changed our clothing, too.

A tight, embroidered blue-velvet bodice over a darker blue silk skirt complimented her eyes perfectly. The neckline was low, revealing pale skin. Her hair was caught up in combs atop her head and I sighed in appreciation before studying the clothing I wore.

A black, embroidered waistcoat over wool pants and boots. We looked ready for a costume ball.

"That's not it," she shook her head at me. "It's time." She folded space.

And bent time
.

"This is," I breathed, stunned nearly speechless. It was. The restaurant where I was supposed to meet my brother and his new wife for dinner. I'd refused, choosing to tend to my horses, instead.

"Yeah. It's that, all right."

We stood across the street, staring at the door—and the doorman just outside—for several moments. Somehow, I knew my brother Justin waited inside for my arrival, although I'd sent a note claiming I couldn't come. I'd listed other obligations as my excuse.

"Taken care of," Kiarra whispered. The sights and scents of London in 1790 permeated my senses. Horses clopped by, carriages clattering in their wake over cobblestone streets. Pipe tobacco smoke drifted past as a gentleman, carrying a silver-topped cane, walked by.

"I don't believe this. Is it real?" I asked. I wanted it to be real. Hoped it was real.

"It's real, Adam. Your brother is waiting." She took my arm.

In a daze, I walked her across the street. The doorman, whose name I'd never bothered to learn, recognized me immediately. Tipping his hat, he opened the door for us. "This is a dream," I muttered as someone came to take my hat and coat.

"This is a test," Kiarra responded as we were led to the table my brother had reserved. There, I received another shock.

It wasn't only Justin and Catherine who waited for us. My parents had come as well. For a moment, I forgot to breathe.

Chapter 11
 

"Mother." I wanted to weep as I leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Father," I clapped him on the back. "Justin," I did the same for him, before kissing Catherine's hand.

"Adam, aren't you forgetting something?" my mother asked, cutting her eyes toward Kiarra, who waited patiently behind me while I greeted my family.

"Mother, this is Kiarra," I pulled her forward. She reluctantly allowed me to present her to my family.

"You've never brought a woman to a family dinner before, old man," Justin teased.

"There has never been one I wanted to bring until now," I said. "I'm asking her to marry me."

"Oh." My mother fanned herself and dropped to her chair. "I never thought this day would come."

"Son?" my father asked, giving me a look. I knew what that look meant—was she of good breeding? Was her family financially sound? I longed to tell him how things were in the twenty-first century. I didn't. I merely gave him a nod, telling him in the way we had of understanding one another, that all was well.

"She's so beautiful, Adam. I can see why you chose her," Catherine's smile was tight. Catherine had a bit of an image problem, after all, but Kiarra would put every woman in the place to shame.

"He hasn't asked me yet, and I haven't answered yet," Kiarra spoke for the first time.

"A spitfire, Adam? I never suspected," Justin teased me again.

"I could write several volumes concerning what you don't suspect," I teased back. Yes, I felt giddy, seeing my family again. Talking to them again. I didn't want to wake from this dream, if dream it was.

"You'd stoop to write?" my mother chuckled. "Justin writes. I've never known you to slow down long enough to voluntarily put pen to paper, unless it's an excuse not to attend a function."

"He failed in his art lessons," my father informed Kiarra with a smile. "His tutor asked him once to draw a tree. He drew a straight trunk, then placed the word
leaf
where every leaf should be. He has always excelled in innovation, and failed miserably at anything having to do with fine arts."

"That isn't true," I shook my head. "I am quite good at architectural drawing."

"That you are, my boy," he laughed. "I think you'd have gone in that direction, had I not asked you to oversee the Oriental shipping contracts."

"True," I agreed. "What is on the menu tonight?"

"Roast duck," Justin said immediately. It had been my favorite.

"I'll have that," I said.

* * *

I never wanted the evening to end. My mother was quite taken with Kiarra, I could tell, although she spoke little. Justin teased her lightly, telling her what an awful bachelor I'd been, preferring horses to balls and garden parties.

Kiarra smiled and said she understood that perfectly well. I kissed my mother again when she and my father rose to leave. I had no idea they'd planned to come to London and stay at the town house for a few days. Justin had planned the dinner as a surprise, and I'd refused to attend the first time.

"Shall we exchange correspondence?" My mother asked Kiarra.

"Of course," she smiled and agreed. I didn't point out that her kind couldn't lie. Half an hour later, Justin made his excuses. I signed for dinner as I watched him and Catherine walk away.

"Now what?" I turned to Kiarra.

"I want to see your horses," she said softly.

"I can arrange that."

I did. Hiring a cab, I paid with money I'd found in a pocket of my borrowed clothing.

"Mind your dress, mum," the cabbie warned as he helped Kiarra from the coach.

"I will, thank you," she said, allowing him to take her hand.

Once the cab drove away, I led her into the stable where my four were quartered.

"These two draw my carriage," I stroked the noses of my matched pair. "The other two, I ride."

"Do you hunt?"

"No," I shook my head. "That's for dandies and fops."

"Seriously?" she blinked at me in disbelief.

"I am of the merchant class. We work for a living," I replied, my voice haughty. "I did do some hunting," I admitted. "Didn't like it much. Felt bad for the animal. If you're going to kill something, make it clean and merciful if possible. I don't like scaring it half to death, first."

"Adam, this is the test," she said, her fingers linking together and gripping tightly. I watched as spots of color formed high on her cheekbones, enhancing her beauty.

"I can leave you here, and you can continue your life as if you'd never been made vampire," she said. "You know how to avoid that, and you're strong enough to fight off your attackers. You can stay with your family, here and now." She dropped her eyes, refusing to look at me.

"Do I have a choice?"

"You have the choice—of staying here, where you are known and loved. Or, going back with me, to an uncertain future. I'm involved in a long war, Adam. Every time, the challenge is to the death. I don't know if I'll live another hundred thousand years or die tomorrow. That's the uncertainty I deal with every day." She turned her gaze on me, then.

"You'll leave me here, to continue my life as it should have been." I didn't make it a question.

"If you want that, yes."

The prospect squeezed my heart. Yes, it beat again, after more than two centuries of stillness. I'd felt unfettered joy for the first time since becoming vampire, upon seeing my family again.

"You'll leave me behind, won't you." Again, not a question.

"If you make this your choice."

Either choice I made would inflict pain. Mentally, I cursed the one who'd designed this test; forcing me to choose one thing I loved over another. I had to weigh my options and do it quickly—Kiarra looked as if she were prepared to leave at any moment. That's when the visions came. Perhaps it was what they meant by
Looking
. Either way, it hit me—a flood of images I couldn't seem to stop or turn aside.

Yes, I saw myself living in London. Seeing my parents and my brother from time to time. Saw myself falling into old habits. Saw myself not aging. Being forced to move from place to place and eventually refusing to see my relatives, because I hadn't changed as they grew older and infirm.

All that time, too, I had one goal in mind. One thing I sought, throughout the centuries. I couldn't find it. Would never find it again. Finally realized what I'd done. Wherever I went, whatever I did, I'd be looking for her.
Kiarra
. I'd searched for her during my lifetime for nearly a century. I'd be trading that for immortality, without her at my side.

Yes, she warned me. I didn't care. I had to take whatever I could—whatever time we might have together. I'd go crazy if I didn't.

"I've seen them grow old and die once before—from a distance," I said. "A part of me knows that. The rest of me knows one thing," I said.

"What's that?" she blinked. I saw she was close to tears. Suspected my choice wouldn't be her.

"That I can't live without you," I said. "I've searched for you so long, and to have you now, and throw that away? What kind of fool would I be?"

The light knocked me down when it came. It rendered me unconscious as well.

* * *

"Six people have disappeared from the Aransas Wildlife Refuge since Saturday," the newscaster announced. "Some forensic evidence was found on a beach there, but the authorities haven't released any details. Meanwhile, area families are waiting—and hoping—for their loved ones' return."

"Kapirus," Kiarra flopped her head onto the pillow beside me, turning off the vid-screen with a remote.

It wasn't a television, it was a vid-screen. I knew that, now. "I got this information from Dragon earlier," she said. "He got it from Daniel, who has been sending it regularly while we've been gone."

"Love, what happened last night?" I asked, reaching for the neckline of her pajama top and pulling it gently aside.

"Thorsten's superior happened last night." She sighed as my mouth settled on the nipple I'd uncovered.

"Nice," I breathed against pale-pink skin before helping myself a second time.

"Belen?"

"No. This." I nipped gently, allowing my fangs to descend just a bit.

"He seldom appears. Thorsten goes to him and reports, instead," she gasped as I nipped again.

"These need to go." I moved downward, pulling her pajama bottoms down with me. I had a goal in mind and I wasn't going to be denied this time. I intended to taste every delicious inch of her before satisfying my growing urge.

"You called it your John Thomas last time," she reminded me before gasping again. I'd nipped her for that.

"You must learn not to talk business while we're making love," I said. "John Thomas needs sufficient room," I kissed and nipped her thigh, "and generous lubrication before making himself at home."

"I thought he was only dropping by for a visit." Her voice was breathy. Aroused.

"Oh, no. This will be his home," I placed fingers in a sensitive spot, forcing her to draw in a breath. "He just has to leave now and then, to get a bit of work done. Now," I dropped my head, "meet John Thomas' cousin." I tongued what I'd touched. She arched her body. I love that. It's as if a woman can't decide at first whether she wants more or is attempting to back away. I intended to give her the former and disallow the latter.

Simple. Direct. She tasted like heaven.
It's time, my heart
, I sent,
to show you the pleasure
. Turning my head slightly, I bit her inner thigh. She screamed as the waves of an intense climax hit. What Joey had given her was nothing compared to this. He'd held back as much as he was able.

This was full-blown, her body jerking against my face. I loved every moment of it.
Now
, I sent when her body flattened against the sheets in near-exhaustion,
let me introduce you to John Thomas
.

* * *

She lay in a tangle of sheets, sleeping. "Shhh," I soothed as she murmured at my touch. I shifted the sheet to cover a bare shoulder; considered waking her, so we could go again.

Forcing that thought away, I slid off the bed and padded toward the door. Surely there was something in the refrigerator to eat and drink. I didn't care that I was naked. Joey and Bearcat, who sat at the kitchen island when I made my way downstairs, didn't seem to mind, either, exchanging an appreciative glance as I approached.

"There are scrambled eggs in the skillet on the stove," Joey said as I sniffed the air. My nose told me the same thing. I went to find a plate. Yes, I'd had Kiarra's blood—twice. I'd forced myself not to take much. Eggs sounded good enough to ease the rumble in my stomach.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked, sitting down and stabbing a fluffy clump of eggs with a fork.

"Dragon says we're going back today," Joey said. "I can still help in an emergency—fighting or healing. I think everybody is supposed to gather here eventually, so Pheligar can take all of us at once."

"When are they coming?" I asked, spearing more eggs and stuffing them in my mouth.

"Now," Lion announced, appearing nearby. "While pants aren't required, they do serve a purpose," he grinned.

* * *

"I'm not wearing jeans," I said.

"Adam, you'll stand out. We don't need that. What we need is to walk that beach and look for evidence. If the Kapirus has taken up residence in a nearby swamp, we need to know that."

I watched shamelessly as she jerked a knit top over her head and pulled her hair away from the neck.

"You're not dressing," she pointed out. "I have to braid my hair." She flounced past me and into the large bathroom attached to her bedroom. "Get dressed. The others are waiting for us."

She'd tossed the pair of jeans at me the moment I'd bounded into the bedroom. I wasn't embarrassed that Dragon and the others had seen me naked, but Pheligar displayed impatience the moment he appeared, so I decided it was time to get dressed.

"I don't wear jeans," I muttered, pulling the infernal things onto my legs. Jeans are either stiff with dark dye or soft and faded from many launderings. These were somewhere in between. At least I wore underwear—the zipper looked lethal.

"I'll get you button flies next time," Kiarra muttered, brushing past me and throwing a yellow polo in my direction.

"At least it's not a T-shirt," I mumbled, pulling it over my head. "Shirts are supposed to button up." My arms went into short sleeves before the fabric settled about my torso.

"Are you going to whine or are you going to put shoes on?"

"I detest sandals."

"Adam, it's ninety-six degrees where we're going. While you didn't sweat as a vampire, you'll sweat now. All that was restored when you arbitrarily took my blood. Live with it."

"Are we grumpy?"

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm not used to herding someone else around before I take off."

"I'll herd faster," I mumbled, reaching for the sandals she'd provided. "These are quite comfortable," I said after slipping them on.